2008-08-01 In search of Platanthera pallida on Long Island, New York. After many false starts with the airlines in getting from South Carolina to Long Island, NY, I finally made it. Eric Lamont, was kind enough to show Sam Saulys and me the premier site for this differently colored orchid. It certainly is not like the "normal" Platanthera cristata, which it closely resembles; it is a light, lemon yellow color, whereas P. cristata (crested fringed orchid) is a darker yellow-orange (see comparison, below). It's lip takes cues from P. blephariglottis (Northern white fringed orchid) in that it tends to curve downward (concave) rather than curve forward (convex). It is P. blephariglottis, I believe, from which it gets the genes that cause the light color as well as causing the lip to curve downward. Although there are no longer any P. blephariglottis in the immediate vicinity of the P. pallida, I suspect that P. pallida must have been an ancient offspring of P. blephariglottis and P. cristata. That's just my $.02 on the subject.

The site for Platanthera pallida is not one where I would expect to find an orchid so closely related to P. cristata. Along the Carolina coastal plain, P. cristata likes to have its feet wet. In fact, I've photographed it growing in a low spot in an inch of water. The Long Island site, near Napeague, can be described as being on ancient sand dunes -- very dry, indeed. This orchid seems not to prefer full sun (again, unlike the southern P. cristata), and is commonly found growing directly under pitch pines (Pinus rigida).

On Saturday morning, while we were unloading our camera gear to enter the site, Eric opened his cell phone and contacted a young, local reporter, Molly Josephs, who had indicated interest in joining him when he next visited the site. In short order, she appeared, notebook and camera in hand to interview us as we studied and photographed these orchids. It was an eye-opener for her to be around such an enthusiastic group of orchid enthusiasts (orchid nuts).

After a couple of hours exploring the area, we said goodbye to Molly and headed to a site for Platanthera blephariglottis, a species I was familiar with, but one that I had not had the opportunity to study and photograph. This site was located on the grounds of the Quogue Nature Center, in Quogue, NY. After walking a short distance down a trail through the woods, we came upon a sturdy boardwalk that led us over a clear creek where we could see hand-size fish and plate-size turtles. Just across the creek, and still on the boardwalk, we reached a boggy area that is approximately 30 feet x 50 feet. In this bog, Eric counted more than 150 P. blephariglottis in full bloom (see images, below). The Nature Center has Eric to thank for this wonderful display, since a couple of years ago, he brought his students to this very place and cleared the brush that had started choking out the orchids. Before they cleared the brush from the bog, there were only a handful of orchids blooming there. Just goes to show what you can do with a small group of teenagers.

All in all, it was a wonderful day spent with good friends and great orchids.

*** Click on any image to enlarge it...